#cawpile

[magicinkjasp]

Reading Journal! (Part 1)

I collect journals. So why not walk through my reading journal?

It's a Marshall's journal. A light pink background with a variety of mushrooms on the cover. It's is a B5 size.

I added an index. I have set apart 4 pages for the index. Since I hope to use this notebook for a few years. I needed quick references for different years and all the books I read. It is noticeable that there is a tab in the upper right corner. Tabs will be used separate the years.

I am using the CAWPILE rating system, first brought on by Book Roast over on YouTube. The nonfiction form of CAWPILE I took from JashiiCorrin on YouTube.

I enjoy quotes. I like having easy access to them. It is why I added a section to put quotes from the books I read. I have yet to add any.

The most important list for bookworms is the loved and dreaded TBR. I have multiple pages set apart from this. The list is short since I am just coming out of a slump. I hope to add more.

This is the first actual notebook page. The rest was the setup. I didn't know what to do in the 2024 year page. It is why it's filled with strikers. I hope to get better at this.

The book shelf to track books is cute. I made one. I plan to draw the books in as I read it. The ten list on the left is supposed to be colored, but I did not bring my colors back home. 1-3 is going to be shades of red, 4-6 is going to be shades of blue, 7-9 is going to be shades of purple and 10 is going to be a golden color.

I kept my book challenge small and short. I didn't want to challenge myself too much. I struggle with reading outside of science fiction. I hope to expand on my taste. And I dislike romance. It is why I challenged myself with two romance topics.

The difference with a challenge and goal is that a challenge is to do things I don't usually do, as for goals it's to accomplish and meet standards with my reading. I did put them easy to fit in my student and employee lifestyle.

[readongfornights]

Virgins by Diana Gabaldon

Virgins is a prequel novel in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. While I have enjoyed the first three books of the series, I wasn't too keen on this novella. In this prequel, we meet Jamie after he'd been beaten and tortured by Captain Randall. He and his good friend, Ian, find themselves in the company of mercenaries in France.

They find themselves in a brothel and then it snowballs from there. I felt the whole story was about them trying to figure out if they should sleep with prostitutes. I was not at all into this story and I don't think it added to the series at all.

C - 8 / 10 A - 6 / 10 W - 6 / 10 P - 4 / 10 I - 5 / 10 L - 6 / 10 E - 6 / 10

Total: 41 / 7 = 5.85

[mellowbunstar]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Fucked up and totally freaked me out, but super amazing anyway! I don’t know if I’d watch this again because NOPE is such a FITTING TITLE lmao - totally worth watching at least once just for the WTF aspect. :D

Characters ███████▒▒▒ - 7 Good

Atmosphere ██████████ - 10 Amazing

Writing ████████▒▒ - 8 Great

Plot █████████▒ - 9 Excellent

Intrigue ██████████ - 10 Amazing

Logic ███████▒▒▒ - 7 Good

Logic ███████▒▒▒ - 7 Good

[dragonsanddustjackets]

i have decided that for the new year i am once again going to overhaul my system of reading, tracking, and reviewing books to be a lot more minimalist bc i definitely tried to do too much and got overwhelmed halfway through the year. thankfully now that my semester is (pretty much one more exam to go) over i can now spend hours of time doing this. if anyone has a nice simple system they use to track all their book stuff over the year, i’d love some tips/recs on it!

[caffeinated-bibliophile]

😭 help?

I mostly liked My Best Friend's Exorcism (3.75-4 stars I think?), thought Horrorstör was good but not great and kinda let me down a little (3-3.25-ish stars), and I had a lot of fun with How to Sell a Haunted House (4 stars).

MBFE actually might have had a very slightly higher CAWPILE rating than HTSAHH (i can't find it in my records to check), but the latter has been my favorite so far.

I'm just over halfway through The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and I'm having trouble with it, mostly (but not entirely) because of the men.

(I know, I know, I know! Fiction! I like shitty characters usually, even the comically evil kind. But I grew up in the mostly evangelical south in roughly the same time this book is set, so this is a little too close to a lot of the marriages I witnessed and it's making me very uncomfortable. It hasn't landed on an actual trigger yet, but I'm on edge because it could.)

[bekah-reading]

96

5/5

Okay, so this is before I implemented the CAWPILE system. I was just too enthralled and entertained and immersed that I was absolutely just very much enjoying the ride I was on with this one.

I love Gothic novels; and I love vampires. This was a nice blend of Gothic, Southwestern Gothic, and Vampires that talked about classism, racism, feminism- and it was beautiful.

The writing style was atmospheric and immersive and it was very well worded and I loved it. The writing was beautiful and flowy and I immediately fell in love.

The characters were tragic and beautiful and I loved them. They were the perfect types of characters to help portray this story and the things it talks and comments on.

So sad this was on my shelf for like a year. I love it. I didn’t have any doubts. I am so glad this book won the poll. This was a success.

[blueysbookshelf]

2024: Book 18 - Devil In Winter

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas My rating: 5 of 5 stars If Devil In Winter ever gets anything less than a five star rating from me, call the police because I have been kidnapped, held hostage, and forced to rate this book lower. There is NOTHING I wouldn't do to go back in time and reread this book for the first time all over again. Literally NOTHING. I'd sell my kidneys…BOTH of them. Sebastian Challon is literally THE EPITOME of what a romance hero should be. Dreamy, sexy, sarcasticly witty, and a full on simp for his woman. The way Evie had him in the palm of her hand from the first moment he saw her in his drawing room…ooooh man. He was hurting for her before he even realized what was happening and I was THERE FOR IT ALL. I wanted more. If Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent has no fans I am dead. If Evie, Lady St. Vincent has no fans I am dead. IF LISA KLEYPAS HAS NO FANS I AM DEAD. This book is everything to me and my all time favorite HistRom. It's the book everything else is always measured against. And so far…nothing has even come close. You want to know what reading the perfect book is like? READ THIS IMMEDIATELY because it literally DOES NOT GET BETTER THAN THIS. I use the CAWPILE Review method for my reviews (see explanation here), just to keep me honest and help me understand what exactly I liked/didn't like. My ratings are below. Characters: 10/10 Atmosphere/Setting: 10/10 Writing: 10/10 Plot: 10/10 Intrigue: 10/10 Logic/Relationships: 10/10 Enjoyment: 10/10 Total rating 70/70 divided by 7 = 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️🌶️ View all my reviews

[camelliagwerm]

3, 7, 9, 20, 23, 40 for the bookie-book asks 🥰📚

thank you doisy.

3. What was the first book you read this year?

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie. It was...only okay. Entertaining, but painfully average and got very repetitive towards the latter half of the book.

7. The oldest book you read this year.

By a long shot, Carmilla by J. Sheridan La Fanu (edition with Carmen Maria Machado's editing), published in 1872 originally. I had tried to read the Mysteries of Udolpho but Ann Radcliffe broke me and I dnf'd.

9. A book that was better than you expected it to be

Already answered this, technically, but I do have another one: I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim considering I don't really read young adult anymore. While I gave it a 3.5/5 (CAWPILE wise I think it got like a 6/10?), it's enjoyable enough that I got the conclusion to the duology and I want to read it somewhat soon.

20. Best fiction you read this year

While I don't think it was my absolute favourite, I think the best fiction I read this year was Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne. This was such a good, addictive fantasy read and I really keep meaning to pick up the Hunger of the Gods. Very well crafted, and I think the fact we read this one as a buddy read and seeing everyone's theories about it really amplified the experience.

However, if we're talking 'best' in terms of like...staying with me, then it is absolutely Tender is the Flesh. I'm gonna be thinking about that one for a long, long time.

23. The book with the prettiest cover

I dnf'd it because honestly, I wasn't feeling it at the time and it's a book I might well come back to sooner rather than later because I'm feeling the Greek mythology itch, but Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes. I really want it to be good as Medusa is one of my favourite Greek mythological figures, but my track record with these style of retellings isn't great.

40. Do you have any reading goals for next year?

I want to continue/finish some series I've started! I've been reading mostly standalones or the occasional first book in a series this year.

[notrlyawriter]

Book Review #3 Anne de Green Gables

Sinopse:

Quando os irmãos Marilla e Matthew Cuthbert, de Green Gables, na Prince Edward Island, no Canadá, decidem adotar um órfão para ajudá-los nos trabalhos da fazenda, não estão preparados para o “erro” que mudará suas vidas: Anne Shirley, uma menina ruiva de 11 anos, acaba sendo enviada, por engano, pelo orfanato.

Eu não tive tempo de revisar, então provavelmente vão ter muitos, muitos erros de escrita. Em português, pois eu li o livro em português.

Stats Cawpile: 9.7 Stars: 5 Started: 12 Dez 2023 Finished: 4 Fev 2024

My thoughts:

Eu amei!!! A Anne é uma menininha adorável e encantadora, lendo esse livro depois de adulta, eu só consigo pensar o quanto eu iria ter gostado de ler algo assim na adolescência. Não tenho nem palavras o suficiente pra descrever o quanto eu senti por ela, senti COM ela. Apesar do enredo simples, essa história não tem nada de simples, acredito que é a primeira vez que um clássico não me deixa com a sensação de ter perdido tempo. Por melhor que seja o livro, clássicos tem a tendência de me deixar zonza com tantas voltas e com muito preguiça de ler pelo tanto de repetição. Mas esse não, esse me deu vontade de continuar lendo e a verdade é que só sentei pra ler ele três vezes, mas todas elas eu tive uma dificuldade imensa de largar o livro. Tinha esquecido o que era sorrir lendo um livro, e com esse não consegui parar. Mal posso esperar pra continuar a ler a série.

Characters / Relationships - 10 Atmosphere / Setting - 10 Writing Style - 9 Plot - 9.5 Intrigue - 10 Logic - 10 Enjoyment - 10

[ravendruidreads]

Welcome in!

Hi! My name is Raven (she/her) and this is my side-blog where I will talk all about books. I started reading when I was really young and was always obsessed with books, but due to not having much free time during and post-college, I fell out of the habit. I have recently picked up reading again last year and decided to try keeping a reading journal and writing more reviews of the books I read.

Most Recently Read: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Currently Reading: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read)

Some of the things you can find here:

Raven's Reviews (this is where I'll review books as I read them);

Raven's TBR (this is where I'll talk about any books on my TBR list);

On My Bookshelf (this is where I'll talk about books that I've read, that I've bought, etc.);

Raven Reacts (this is the tag I'll use if I feel like reacting to anything in particular that I'm reading);

Random reblogs of things related to books.

I will be using the CAWPILE system to review my books, which you can find here.

My askbox is always open for any book recommendations and/or questions!

[vanwolfing]

Little Women and CAWPILE

Hello all! I think I am back. I was in therapy and realised how much I miss writing on a day to day basis. So I decided to start it back. Currently my goal is to write only book reviews and write them based on the language in which I read them. That means that if I read a book in Estonian then I write the post in Estonian and get it translated to English for this blog. My most recent read was…

[magicinkjasp]

The Spirit Bares it's Teeth- Book Review (Part 2)

The bolded leaders indicate the CAWPILE method. (characters, atmosphere, writing style, plot, intrigue, logic and enjoyment)

(I)While I have read other books that take place in 1800 century Victorian England (The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue) this one was unique with its fantasy twist, it was also the first one that I felt like it tackled the cruelty of medicine back then. When it came to picking this book, I was already interested. I had read “Hell Followed With Us” and already knew I wanted to read more from A.J. I struggle with starting books, and the first chapter was rather slow for me, but after that I never wanted to put it down. It held my interest throughout the book. When it came to the black pages I was always excited, interested in what the spirits had to say. Sometimes it took a little to decipher their meaning but they were intense. I enjoyed the little plot twists present, they changed the whole perspective and looking back added much more depth to the characters.

(L)When it came to the logistics of the book, it made sense to me. What I truly appreciated was that it went past the setting of London and often talked about other places in the world, specifically America. It is something that was lacking in A.J White’s previous book. I enjoyed that the characters always acted within their roles and motives, even at the beginning when it wasn’t all that clear. It made their later actions not seem out of nowhere. I would have enjoyed it if the magic system rules would have been a little clearer with the veil. But it fits in the character, since we are in Silas’ point of view and he does not care much for the speakers. The world building presented fit in with the story and the characters.

(E)Overall, I liked the story. I knew I was going to like it from the moment I read it. As I read my enjoyment was consistent throughout. There were moments I did not like it, but that was consistent with the trigger warning given at the start of the book. Even those moments did not take away from the enjoyment, it was real and it did not shy away from reality. It made me bleed and weep, it cut into my soul, there are quotes that will never leave me. I will be thinking about this, the message and ideas it brings forth and what it argues for, as long as I live, it will resonate with me.

I overall give this book 4/5

[readongfornights]

The Martian by Andy Weir

I initially tried to read this book several years ago after the movie came out. However, I was getting stuck on the copious amounts of math and science jargon. I got lost and had to read paragraphs over and over to try to understand. As much as I love science, I am a neophyte, at best. So the amount of computations and discussion were beyond my understanding.

However, I later got the audiobook and that was a game changer. Especially since Wil Wheaton was the narrator. He made it fun to listen to and understand what was going on. After that, I enjoyed the book immensely. I gave this book five stars.

C - 10 / 10 A - 9 / 10 W - 8 / 10 P - 9 / 10 I - 10 / 10 L - 9 / 10 E - 8 / 10

Total: 63 / 7 = 9.0

[thedeweydecimal]

I'm building a book tracking spreadsheet using the CAWPILE rating method and so far she looks damn good

[caffeinated-bibliophile]

Mmkay...

I finished Strange the Dreamer. I did not hate it. I haven't put it through CAWPILE yet, but I'm going to guess it will come out as a low 4 star, or like a 3.75, maybe.

(I didn't expect to hate it, though. I expected to enjoy it, then hate the last 25-100 pages of Muse of Nightmares.)

I checked out the audiobook of Muse of Nightmares. The dread I feel is like a physical weight lol. (I want to love it, but I'm braced for the worst.)

Wish me luck?

[bekah-reading]

97

4/5

C- 8 A- 9 W-6 P-9 I-8 L-7 E-8

CAWPILE- 7.85 Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was interesting. I really enjoyed it. This is the first book I have with the CAWPILE system and I’m so glad it turned out to be a four star. I loved it.

I love Stephen King’s older books- and this just solidified that statement. I have never read this or seen the movie so this was my first experience with Christine. I ate this shit up. I loved it. The writing was great; I loved the characters; and it was weird. All the things I really enjoy about Stephen King was here. I’m so glad I read this; and I can’t wait to read more from Stephen King.